Maplegate Country Club, a golf course located in Franklin and Bellingham, has been sold for $24.84 million to NextGrid, a California-based private solar energy developer.
The sale finalized on Dec. 30, with the golf course first opened in 1988 being sold by the Maple Gate Realty Trust to an entity managed by NextGrid, according to Norfolk County Registry of Deeds records.
The sale will see the 140-site converted to host two 15-megawatt solar systems, providing energy to approximately 6,000 households, according to a Monday press release from Wrentham-based American Commercial Real Estate.
The conversion from golf to solar will see the end of the property being enrolled under Chapter 61B, a Massachusetts law which provides tax incentives for recreational land uses, which includes golf.
The end of the tax incentive will result in $280,000 annually in additional tax revenue for Franklin. The project is financed with private capital and did not involve government funding, according to the press release.
Joseph Evans and Dusty Burke Jr. of American Commercial Real Estate brokered the sale.
“This project represents a major investment in renewable energy across Massachusetts and reflects the growing role of private capital in supporting sustainable infrastructure,” Evans said in the press release. “The transaction required careful navigation of permitting processes across Franklin and Bellingham and extensive coordination with municipal boards and stakeholders throughout the region.”
NextGrid is based in San Francisco and works with landowners to purchase or lease land to host solar farms, according to CrunchBase. The company previously worked with the Massachusetts Steamship Authority to implement solar arrays at an authority-owned parking lot in Falmouth, according to the Cape Cod Times.
Maplegate’s course is located in Franklin but has a Bellingham address of 160 Maple St., as the site is accessed via a driveway connecting it to Maple Street. The course hosted U.S. Open Qualifying events in 1998 and 2001, according to its website.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
